Norfolk’s women are more likely to be admitted to hospital with an alcohol-related condition now than they were five years ago, data reveals.

The latest Public Health England figures show the rate of patients who attended hospital with an alcohol-related diagnosis, per 100,000 people.

In 2012/13 the rate for women was 305. By 2016/17 it had increased to 326.

However this was still significantly lower than the rate for men, which was 639.

The statistics look at admissions where the primary diagnosis or any of the secondary diagnoses are due to alcohol.

Conditions with a main cause of alcohol include liver cirrhosis and alcohol poisoning, while drinking can also lead to forms of cancer and heart disease.

In Suffolk, there were fewer admissions overall, but the rate for women had still increased from 267 to 277 in the same period.

In 2016/17 505 men were admitted with alcohol-related conditions.

The government estimates alcohol costs the NHS £3.5bn each year.

Overall the rate in Norfolk in 2016-17 was 478 per 100,000. This was similar to the previous 12 months when the rate was 485.

In Suffolk, the overall rate was 388 per 100,000, a 2pc increase in 12 months, previously the rate was 379.

Dr James Nicholls, director of research and policy development at Alcohol Research UK, said: “Alcohol-related hospital admissions have been stabilising in recent years, but are still around 20pc higher than they were in 2005.

“Importantly, hospital admissions for younger drinkers are falling, reflecting a long-term decline in youth consumption over the last decade.

“At the same time, admissions are highest among people aged between 45 and 64.

“This is the age group which currently drinks the most, and among which consumption has fallen the least.”

Dr Nicholls said men continued to have the highest rates of hospital admissions as they are more likely to drink heavily than women.

However, in under-18s, women are more likely to be admitted, due to both physiological differences and binge drinking.

He added: “One positive trend is that the wholly-attributable narrow measure has been falling in recent years. This may reflect the general decline in consumption across the population since around 2005.”